Network Operators Globally Turn to PeerApp to Make iOS 7 Updates Faster and More Reliable

NEWTON, MA – September 23, 2013 – PeerApp, the leader in content caching and delivery, has released statistics from its global caching customer base that quantify the network impact of iOS 7 downloads. The data clearly illustrates how PeerApp’s UltraBand is helping operators ease network congestion and allows users to download software updates and other over-the-top (OTT) Internet content more quickly during this high traffic event.

Apple's iOS is the operating system for all iPhones, iPads and iPods. Its file size is approximately 750 MB, depending on the device. Apple’s release of iOS 7 on September 18 prompted millions of people around the world to download it at the same time, resulting in severe network congestion in many areas. A number of users reported long waits and failures while trying to download the software. This is a result of demand outstripping server and network capacity. UltraBand alleviates these bottlenecks and accelerates downloads by automatically storing and serving large files from within the operators’ access networks.

PeerApp data from its global caching installed customer base show the following:

Peak network traffic increased by 23 percent on average following the iOS 7 release. Some operators experienced traffic spikes of over 60%.

Operators with UltraBand delivered over 99 percent of the updates from cache, virtually eliminating the traffic spikes within their networks.

Caching accelerated downloads by a factor of 4 to 10 - limited only by the speed of the “last mile” access network. This means that a 50-minute download time was reduced to 5-12 minutes.

In the first 24 hours alone, PeerApp systems delivered over 10 million iOS 7 updates, representing approximately 8 petabytes of data traffic offloaded from the Internet.

"I can’t think of another event that had so much overnight impact. During the height of the iOS 7 surge, we saw traffic increase by over 60 percent in some locations,” said Scott Griffith, product manager Broadband & Data Services at GCI, Alaska’s largest provider of internet services with cable modem, wireless and dedicated access. "PeerApp’s UltraBand allowed us to meet customer expectations and the spike in demand with no network impacts.” CASSCOMM, an Illinois-based provider of broadband Internet services noted, "We were anticipating that event. Our IT Manager, Mark Brown, was watching it in real time and was pleased with PeerApp UltraBand's performance."

The iOS 7 update is one example of UltraBand’s ability to assure high quality delivery of popular services, even under severely adverse network conditions, through intelligent delivery from operator-owned last-mile infrastructure. This capability enables network operators to partner with over-the-top content services to improve delivery of their content by utilizing network caches on an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) basis. Creating an open ecosystem that allows content services to seamlessly interface with operator caches lies at the heart of the Content Services Extension (CSE) initiative announced earlier this year by PeerApp and other participants in the content delivery industry.

“Flash events such as a major software update or a viral video can wreak havoc with networks as many users attempt to download the content simultaneously,” said David Sokolic, vice president of marketing and business development at PeerApp. “This is a major issue for network operators, but those who use our solution are delivering downloads more quickly while virtually eliminating the traffic spikes within their networks.”

For more information: Learn more about PeerApp’s UltraBand Series here. Download a primer on Transparent Caching here.

About PeerApp Ltd. PeerApp enables operators to embrace the exploding demand for over-the-top (OTT) video and data content. PeerApp’s award-winning multiservice UltraBand transparent caching platform enhances subscribers’ quality of experience (QoE), improves network efficiency, and provides a platform for monetizing OTT content delivery. It does this by intelligently caching and bringing the most frequently requested Internet content closer to the subscriber. As the market leader in transparent caching, PeerApp has systems commercially deployed by hundreds of operators worldwide. PeerApp is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, USA. For more information, visit www.peerapp.com and follow us on Twitter @peerapp.